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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah hit five fours and two sixes in his 28-ball 50•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans, having to win their last league game to qualify for the playoffs, did so emphatically courtesy Mahmudullah’s half-century. They finished the group stages in second position to ensure the first qualifier against the same opponents on December 6. The eliminator will be played between Chittagong Vikings and Rajshahi Kings.Khulna, having never gone past 157 in the tournament, had to make their highest team total. And against a weakened Dhaka side that rested Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell, they breezed to the target with 12 balls to spare.It didn’t seem a cakewalk when they lost Andre Fletcher early. Mohammad Hasanuzzaman struck three sixes and as many fours in his 18-ball 40 to get them ahead of the asking rate. Mahmudullah then took over after Hasanuzzaman’s dismissal; he hit five fours and two sixes in his 28-ball 50. The trigger boost meant Abdul Mazid’s strike rate of 58.33, the lowest of the season for batsmen who have faced 35 or more deliveries, was negated.Mahmudullah fell with Khulna needing eight, but with no pressure, they cantered home to dash the hopes of Rangpur Riders, who lost to Comilla Victorians earlier in the evening.When Dhaka batted first, Kumar Sangakkara, reprieved on 2, brought up his second half-century of the tournament. The rest of the Dhaka batting line-up threw away starts with, with Mehedi Maruf, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Seekkuge Prasanna and Ravi Bopara not going past 20. Junaid Khan picked up three wickets.

Mitchell Marsh’s hotly-debated LBW on the final day of the Perth Test was correctly tracked from its initial point of impact on the allrounder’s front toe, the custodians of EagleEye have confirmed.The decision, which was reversed from Aleem Dar’s initial verdict of not out due to the widening of the zone in which the stumps can be projected to hit by the ICC earlier this year, was openly questioned by a succession of television commentators and also Australia’s captain, Steven Smith, who said it was like Kagiso Rabada was bowling “leg-spin”.The former captain Michael Clarke stated on Channel Nine’s cricket coverage that he was certain the ball was going down the leg side. “I was certain that was missing the stumps,” Clarke said. “When you look at that replay, I thought it was definitely swinging too far and missing the leg stump.”He’ll be really disappointed with that. It has clipped his toe, then clipped his pad, and then got onto the bat. But what I don’t agree with is the line of the delivery once the ball hits him on the toe … I believe the line of that delivery is going down and missing leg stump.”Similar sentiments were echoed by Clarke’s predecessor Ricky Ponting, while another former captain in Mark Taylor – until recently a member of the ICC cricket committee that has long advocated the use of the DRS and ball-tracking – offered his own criticism of the projection.However Ian Taylor, head of the New Zealand company Animation Research that provides EagleEye for Nine’s broadcast, told ESPNcricinfo that the tracking used for Marsh’s dismissal had been reviewed and not found to be in error, either in terms of the projection reached or the process used to get there.”I talked to my guys [in Perth] and we talked to the ICC and showed the process we went through, and we’re happy with it,” Taylor said. “They had a really good pitching point off the pitch, and a really good contact point on the shoe, it wasn’t on the pad. They felt confident they could extrapolate from those two points to make the prediction.”They have the choice there of saying they think there was insufficient data, but they saw it really clearly and it didn’t continue out on that line [down leg], it hit the foot right in front of middle stump. We saw the impact on the toe before anyone else did, and we saw the impact on the toe with our four cameras, and our guys confirmed it with the HotSpot guys sitting with them. That’s where the projection was made, the line from the bounce to the foot, to the stumps.”Taylor offered an open invitation to any sceptical commentators, officials or even umpires to visit the technology operators and see things for themselves – not unlike the process by which the BCCI recently approved the use of ball-tracking as part of the DRS, a system to be used in the just-begun Test series between India and England.”What surprises me is so many people can make a call straight away with just seeing the replay from the end-on view, when we’re going through four super slo-mo cameras and HotSpot,” Taylor said. “That was the process they went through. I fully respect the guys who spent their whole careers out in the middle, it’s an instinct they have and that umpires have.”We definitely don’t dismiss that and we take very seriously the views of those people. Our doors were open to all of the commentators to come down at lunchtime – we had people wait there because we thought someone might. We’ve also re-affirmed to the ICC and all the umpires as well that the door is always open, come on down and talk it through so we all learn from it.”Technology operators have advocated for some time that either the third umpire or an ICC-accredited official sit alongside those working HotSpot, EagleEye/HawkEye or other devices to provide clearer lines of accountability.”The issue for us is if we did this properly with a third umpire who was trained and there [with the technology operators], he could have made the call that my guys made,” he said. “That’s what we talk about – here’s all the information we’ve got, and you make a call whether you want us to project this on or not, because you’re an umpire.”The argument we have about a third umpire or ICC-accredited person who sits with our guys, the third umpire sitting up in the box does not know what’s going on down in our room. Who’s talking, what we’re seeing, what we’re looking at, what we’re replaying and what our thought process is. We’ve always argued if we had a fully qualified person from the ICC sitting in that room with everybody, we would go with that.”

Australia’s selection chairman Rod Marsh has become the first notable figure to quit amidst the plummeting fortunes of the national team, forcing an extraordinary board meeting later on Wednesday to decide on his replacement.Marsh and fellow selectors Trevor Hohns and Mark Waugh met in Hobart during the course of Australia’s innings defeat to South Africa, before the 69-year-old passed on his decision to resign immediately to Cricket Australia. He had previously flagged his intention not to continue after his contract expires in June next year.”This is my own decision and no one within Cricket Australia has pressured me or even suggested that I should do this,” Marsh said. “Clearly, though, it is time for some fresh thinking, just as it is for our Test team to welcome some new faces as we build for the future.”I have always had the best interests of Australian cricket foremost in my heart, and that’s why I have made this decision.”I have thoroughly enjoyed the role and want to thank the coach, the staff, my co-selectors and all the players for their support and honesty over the past two and a half years. It was a thrill for me to be involved in many successes, including the World Cup win in 2015.”I wish the captain, coach and the team all the best going forward. We will be great again.”The CA chairman David Peever spoke of Marsh’s contribution to Australian cricket. “Rod has played a pivotal role during a time of change in Australian cricket, which has seen the team hold the top positions in both Test and one-day rankings as well as secure an ICC Cricket World Cup victory,” he said.”We understand this decision has not come easily for Rod and on behalf of Australian cricket we thank him for his leadership and the integrity and insight he brought to the role throughout his tenure as the national selector and the lifelong commitment he has given to our sport. Above all else, Rod is an outstanding person.”Having served Australia with distinction as a wicketkeeper before successfully helming the national academies of both Australia and England, Marsh joined the selection panel in 2011 following the release of the Argus review, and replaced John Inverarity as chairman in May 2014.His tenure featured home series wins over India, New Zealand and the West Indies plus the 2015 World Cup victory also at home. However the team also lost badly away from home to Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka, before the current humiliating results to South Africa that hastened his exit.Earlier on Wednesday, the CA chief executive James Sutherland had not given any indication of Marsh’s intention to quit. “Rod’s in the job and he’s doing clearly, like everyone else, they are doing the best job they can and working very hard at it,” Sutherland had said. “He will finish up, or he’s said that he’s going to finish up in June and we’ll make decisions about that and how we transition that in the future.”

SA squad for Australia Tests

Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Dane Vilas
IN: Morne Morkel, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rilee Rossouw, Dane Vilas
OUT: Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Dane Piedt, Stiaan van Zyl

Two uncapped spinners will form part of South Africa’s attack on their three Test tour to Australia in November. Chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi, who has enjoyed early success in ODIs, and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj have been included in the 16-man squad. They come in at the expense of offspinner Dane Piedt, who had played both home Tests against New Zealand and three of the four Tests against England last summer, and seemed to be establishing himself as first choice.The pace pack has fewer surprises with Morne Morkel returning, subject to coming through a first-class match starting on Tuesday. Morkel sat out the New Zealand Tests and Australia ODIs with a back problem and has since made a come back in club cricket. He forms part of a five-man seam attack with Kyle Abbott, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander.Faf du Plessis will captain in place of the injured AB de Villiers while in-form Rilee Rossouw – who is yet to win a Test cap – has been added as batting cover in place of Stiaan van Zyl. Dane Vilas will travel as the reserve gloveman. Dean Elgar, who sustained an ankle injury ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, has been in action for the Titans and will take his place at the top of the order. With allrounders Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell nursing knee and rib injuries respectively, South Africa are without an allrounder apart from JP Duminy, who has been earmarked to play a role with the ball as well.”Basically, we are following a horses for courses policy as we feel that spinners who turn the ball away from the right-hander are going to be particularly useful in Australian conditions and against the Test batsmen we are likely to face,” Linda Zondi, South Africa’s convener of selectors, said. “I am excited about the cover we have in this area with a wrist spinner and a left-arm orthodox spinner, with JP Duminy able to offer the right-arm variety as well.”Still, the inclusion of two rookie spinners is a bold move from South Africa, and seems to come as a consequence of Piedt’s wickets costing too much. He was South Africa’s third-highest wicket-taker in the England series, with 10 scalps at 45.50, and he was South Africa A’s joint-highest wicket-taker in their two unofficial Tests against Australia A but his six wickets came at an average of 43.66. Piedt had a good first-class run last summer, finishing third on the overall wicket-takers’ list, behind Shamsi and in front of Maharaj.Shamsi was joint-second with 41 wickets at 16.07 while Maharaj was joint-fifth, with 36 wickets at 32.00. While Shamsi has not played a first-class match since April, and his time with the South African ODI squad means he will not feature for the Titans before the Australia tour, Maharaj has started this season with great success. He took a career-best 13 for 157 to bowl the Dolphins to victory over the Warriors in the opening round of the first-class competition.Half of South Africa’s Test squad will not have had long-format game time ahead of the tour as they finish the ODI series but Cook, Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Vernon Philander, Vilas, Dean Elgar, Morkel and Maharaj will all have at least one domestic match under their belts before the squad travels. Cook and Bavuma scored an unbeaten 97 and 76 respectively for the Lions in their win over the Cobras. Vilas and Philander played in the same match, without much success. Elgar scored 33 and 1 for the Titans against the Knights and Morkel will play for the Titans in their fixture this week.South Africa will also have two warm-up matches in Australia – one ahead of the series and another between the second and third Tests. The final fixture is a day-night match at the Adelaide Oval, in which de Villiers is holding out faint hope of being able to participate in.

ScorecardMichael Hogan stood in as Glamorgan captain•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Glamorgan would have been in deep trouble had Australian born Nick Selman not scored 101, almost half the team’s total, in an attacking innings.Selman, who last month carried his bat for an undefeated hundred against Northants, looked as if would emulate that performance until he was bowled the delivery after reaching his century. He will hope that this innings will not start a run of poor form- following his first century he suffered a run of four ducks.After an uncontested toss, Mark Wallace – in the absence of Jacques Rudolph, who had a sore neck – opened the innings with Selman, but Wallace was out in the seventh over, leg before to David Payne, which prompted a spectator to shout behind the arm” that was a poor decision umpire”.Selman had started with a flurry of boundaries, and although Will Bragg and David Lloyd were both out cheaply, Glamorgan had reached 130 for 3 at lunch, with Selman and Aneurin Donald in full flow.The fourth wicket pair had put on 65, before Donald, who was only four runs short of his 1,000 first-class runs for the season, top-edged an intended pull to mid-on. Kieran Carlson, playing his second championship game, was out with scoring, and after Selman was dismissed, Craig Meschede was also dismissed by Matt Taylor.Graham Wagg, meanwhile, played a watchful innings on a pitch that was seamer friendly, and had to contend with some accurate bowling from the Gloucestershire seam quartet. Wagg and Timm Van Der Gugten added a useful 38 for the ninth wicket, enabling Glamorgan to gain a batting point, before they were both dismissed by Craig Miles who, with Taylor, took four wickets.Gloucestershire had to face 31 overs after tea, but soon lost Gareth Roderick who edged Van Der Gugten’s fifth ball to second slip. The Glamorgan seamers also bowled a tight line, but it was a short delivery that undid Chris Dent, who tamely guided the ball to square leg.Will Tavare, who had laboured 67 balls for his 18, was the next to go when he was lbw to Michael Hogan, who was leading Glamorgan in Rudolph’s absence. Hamish Marshall and George Hankin, who was the Player of the Tournament in the recent Under-19 series against Sri Lanka, guided Gloucestershire to the close at 62 for3, a deficit of 158.

ScorecardSteven Davies is attracting the attention of several counties•Getty Images

Where Steven Davies plays his cricket next season is unknown. He is out of contract at Surrey, and, retaining England ambitions, wants to regain the gloves. Thanks to the emergence of Ben Foakes, he will not get to do that at Surrey anytime soon, but several counties, including Somerset, would give much for a keeper of his batting prowess.On this sweltering day at The Oval – much of a hearty crowd spent the day moving to avoid the sun, inverting a county cricket tradition of fans congregating under any rays of sunshine, real or imaged – Surrey had cause to thank that, for now, Davies remains all theirs.His pristine late cut, gliding the ball precisely through backward point, must register as one of the most delightful shots in the county game. A threaded drive through point off Simon Kerrigan, in between two men placed to stop just such a shot was followed, in the next over, by a sumptuous flick through midwicket off Arron Lilley; the outcome of both deliveries belied a lack of discernible effort from the batsman as they raced across the boundary. Each was a triumph of timing and grace over power.It says everything of Davies that, in this form, he was not the lesser stylist in his partnership with Kumar Sangakkara. The most notable contrast between the two was in intent: Davies’ fine half-century arrived in 96 balls, while Sangakkara’s took just 47. Their partnership of 77 in 17.5 overs – a product of sharp running as well as clean hitting – imbued new impetus into Surrey’s innings until Sangakkara scythed Nathan Buck to gully, where he was neatly taken by Haseeb Hameed.Davies, though, seemed hell-bent on returning the following morning, leaving the ball judiciously in between caressing the ball through the offside. He had made 59 fine runs when, to his evident consternation, a slog sweep picked out midwicket in the last throes of the day. It embodied a season in which he has provided wondrous shot-making, and yet is still averaging under 40 in Championship cricket.His disappointment at squandering a chance to make a match-defining innings was shared by several in the Surrey dressing room: not just Sangakkara, but also the openers Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley. Batting with great diligence and an austere mood out of sync with the sunshine, they extended their overnight partnership to 160 before both fell in consecutive overs to a zesty spell from Kyle Jarvis: Sibley played on; Burns cut aberrantly outside offstump, just when he appeared set on a second century, and 1,000 runs, in the Championship summer.The upshot is that, while Surrey have a dominant position, it is not quite the impregnable one they had threatened to build. For that Lancashire’s perseverance should be lauded. If their attack lacks an incisive streak, they are not short of tenacity. And, with two spinners in their ranks, they might feel that a final day target of 250 or so could imperil Surrey. Should either county have a positive result to toast, it will effectively ensure that they do not return to Division Two in 2017.Three years and three days after his only Test match was ruined by Shane Watson at this same ground, Simon Kerrigan again recorded figures of 0 for 53; this time, though, off 20 overs rather than eight. Sangakkara had briefly revived these memories, by driving Kerrigan through long-off for four, and then sauntering down the wicket and flicking him over long-on for six, in consecutive balls, but this was mostly a day of steadfast accumulation, not high-summer madness.

ScorecardJim Allenby did his utmost to hold off Middlesex•Getty Images

Eoin Morgan top scored with 43 as Middlesex boosted their hopes of a NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final place with a five-wicket win over Somerset at Taunton.The hosts were bowled out in 19.3 overs for a paltry 136 after winning the toss as their desperately disappointing group campaign yielded an eighth defeat. Jim Allenby top-scored with 64, while Tony Roland-Jones claimed three for 24.There were two wickets each for James Fuller, Harry Podmore and Nathan Sowter. Middlesex coasted to victory with five balls to spare as Morgan, Dawid Malan (24), George Bailey (21) and John Simpson (23 not out) led the way to the modest target.Somerset’s embarrassment was complete when a no-ball for not having enough fielders in the circle helped tilt the game towards Middlesex in the closing stages.Somerset’s innings was as grey as the weather. They were given a reasonable start by Allenby and Mahela Jayawardene, who took the score to 49 at the end of the six-over powerplay.Then Jayawardene was caught behind making room to cut Podmore and from that point the innings meandered, providing precious little excitement for home supporters in the crowd.Peter Trego departed to his first big hit, caught at long-off to give leg-spinner Sowter his first wicket and, although Allenby moved to a half-century off 38 balls, with 7 fours and a six, Somerset badly lost momentum.Johann Myburgh did his best to inject some urgency and hit the only other six of the innings before being caught attempting another. Tim Rouse’s first team debut ended on nine when he was bowled by Fuller.Roelof van der Merwe failed to clear the short boundary on the town side of the ground and fell to Roland-Jones, who followed up by dismissing Allenby and Lewis Gregory with the fifth and sixth balls of the same over.It was an all too familiar story for Somerset fans as only three batsman managed double figures.Under no pressure to score quickly, Middlesex openers Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan still took 16 off the third over, bowled by Gregory.They had added 29 in 3.4 overs when Gregory took a sharp catch at mid-wicket off van der Merwe to dismiss Gubbins for 13.Middlesex then got bogged down themselves. Malan made room only to carelessly slash a catch to deep cover off Josh Davey, Somerset’s most impressive bowler.After ten overs the score was only 54 for two as Morgan and Bailey began watchfully. Morgan hit the first six of the innings off Max Waller in the 12th over.Bailey fell with the score on 91, caught at deep mid-wicket off Davey, but by then Morgan was starting to cut loose and he collected another maximum off van der Merwe in the 16th over as Middlesex closed in on victory.The England batsman was visibly frustrated over being caught at long-off in the 18th over to give Waller a wicket. And when James Franklin hit a Gregory full-toss straight to mid-off with nine needed from eight balls Middlesex hearts beat a little faster.But a no-ball awarded against Gregory for too many fielders outside the ring followed by a Ryan Higgins boundary quickly eased any nerves and a Simpson six off the first ball of the final over settled the outcome.Allenby said: “What happened with the last ball of the 19th over was that we knew we were running short of time and needed to get into position quickly.”I probably wasn’t quite clear enough in the field we needed to set and it was all a bit of a rush. The no-ball was called because we only had three men inside the circle.”Defending nine off the last over would have been tough, with John Simpson in form he has been showing, but there would have been a chance. As it turned out, the free hit went for four and the first ball of the last over for six, so we will never know what might have been.”

ScorecardNick Browne made his highest score in limited-overs cricket•Getty Images

Nick Browne posted his highest List A score to keep Essex top of the Royal London Cup South Group table, but the opener might have been celebrating a first 50-over hundred if he had not been run out on 99.Browne slipped as he turned for a second run and failed to beat home Andrew Salter’s throw from deep mid-on. He had faced 104 balls, and in partnerships of 82 with Jesse Ryder and 85 with Ravi Bopara laid the foundations for Essex to chase down 325 with five balls to spare.The left-hander’s previous best had been the 69 he recorded against Hampshire at Southampton last year. Coincidentally, Browne’s previous highest score in this season’s competition was 49 before he was stumped in the win against Kent.Ryder and Bopara both contributed half-centuries and Ryan ten Doeschate and James Foster thrashed 36 off 20 ball to finish the chase as Essex claimed their fourth win in six games after their 66-run defeat by Surrey on Sunday.That Essex faced such a big target was down to a 66-ball hundred by Colin Ingram, containing six sixes. The South African needed just 73 balls to reach 107 – which also included seven fours – and dominated stands of 83 and 87 with Will Bragg and Graham Wagg for the third and sixth wickets.Ingram took 41 balls to reach his half-century, and then accelerated to the extent that his next fifty took just a further 25 deliveries. But the biggest partnership of Glamorgan’s innings went to openers David Lloyd and Jacques Rudolph, their 105 partnership spanning 23 overs.Four of Essex’s seven bowlers went for more than seven an over, and only the steady David Masters kept Glamorgan under control with two for 44 from his 10 overs. Graham Napier finished with three wickets, but at a personal cost of 73. In the end it mattered not.

2010

January: Cairns declares intent to sue Lalit Modi over accusatory tweet
The then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi tweets that the IPL decided to withdraw Cairns’ name from the auction list because of his alleged involvement in fixing. In his response, a statement issued by his solicitor Andrew Fitch-Holland, Cairns says: “The allegation made by Lalit Modi that I have been involved in match-fixing is scandalous and wholly untrue. For him to circulate such a falsehood around the world is outrageous. Mr Modi’s allegation has caused me huge personal distress and professional damage. I cannot allow these slurs to ruin my future and I have instructed my solicitors, Collyer Bristow LLP, to bring proceedings for defamation against Mr Modi.”

2011

February: McCullum reports alleged approaches by Cairns
Brendon McCullum tells John Rhodes, a representative of the ICC’s anti-corruption unit, about the allegedly corrupt approaches Chris Cairns made to him in 2008. New Zealand’s then captain Daniel Vettori is present at the Rhodes’ meeting, for moral support according to McCullum. McCullum decides to speak out only after Rhodes addressed the team ahead of their World Cup 2011 opener, telling them “if we had been or were approached about match-fixing and we did not report it, then we were, in the eyes of the ICC, just as guilty as the person who approached us”. McCullum did not report the alleged approaches by his one-time hero earlier because “it’s not easy ‘ratting’ on someone I regarded as a mate”.

2012

March: Cairns wins libel case against Modi
Chris Cairns wins his libel case in London against Lalit Modi and is awarded damages of £90,000 ($142,000). Judge David Bean of the High Court finds that Modi had “singularly failed to provide any reliable evidence” that Cairns was involved in fixing of any kind.

2014

May: McCullum report on Cairns leaked
The carries parts of the statements made by Brendon McCullum on Chris Cairns to the ICC’s anti-corruption investigators. According to the newspaper, McCullum told investigators that he was first approached during IPL 2008, and he turned down offers of up to $180,000 to underperform. New Zealand Cricket releases a statement confirming that McCullum is not under investigation himself, and says: “New Zealand Cricket is dismayed that Brendon McCullum’s testimony to the International Cricket Council has been leaked to the media.”July: Vincent confesses to being a ‘cheat’
“My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat. I have abused my position as a professional sportsman on a number of occasions by choosing to accept money in fixing.” Thus begins a tell-all confession from the former New Zealand batsman, who, hours after releasing this statement, is banned for life by the ECB; Vincent had confessed to 11 offences punishable by a life ban under ECB anti-corruption regulations. He is banned from “all forms of cricket” and prevented from “playing, coaching or participating in any form of cricket which is recognised or sanctioned by ECB, the ICC or any other National Cricket Federation”.

2015

October 5: Perjury case opens against Cairns
A case opens at Southwark Crown Court against Chris Cairns, who is accused by the Crown Prosecution Service of lying under oath during the 2012 libel case involving Lalit Modi. Also standing trial is Cairns’ former legal counsel Andrew Fitch-Holland, who is accused of perverting the course of justice in the 2012 case.October 12: Vincent testifies against Cairns
Lou Vincent is the first of the witnesses to be called for the prosecution. He claims he was acting under “direct orders” from Cairns when he agreed to fix matches in the now-defunct Indian Cricket League in 2008.October 15: McCullum testifies against Cairns
McCullum gives evidence in the perjury case. He claims he was asked three times by Cairns to get involved in spot-fixing. He admits he did not report the approach until three years later because “he didn’t want it to be true”.October 21: ACSU official questioned on McCullum’s statements
John Rhodes, the Australasian head of the ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit (ACSU), takes the stand in the perjury case; it was to this official that Brendon McCullum had made his initial statement on Cairns in 2011. Rhodes says McCullum’s initial statement omitted any explicit mention of “match-fixing”, but the “inference was clear”. However, he says, his job as a field officer was simply to collect information and it was up to his superiors to investigate his findings. He admits to having lost the diary where he had made notes on McCullum’s report.November: Cairns found not guilty of perjury
The nine-week perjury trial ends. Justice Sweeney, the presiding judge, says the evidence of two of the three “key” witnesses – Lou Vincent, his ex-wife Eleanor Riley and Brendon McCullum – would have to be accepted as true for the perjury charge to be upheld. The jury delivers a not-guilty verdict after 10 hours and 17 minutes of deliberation.

2016

June: McCullum hits out at ACSU’s handling of his report on Cairns
During his MCC Spirit of Cricket lecture, Brendon McCullum condemns the casual manner in which his first interview with John Rhodes was conducted. He says of Rhodes: “[He] took notes – he did not record our conversation. He said he would get what I said down on paper and that it would probably end up at the bottom of the file with nothing eventuating. Looking back on this, I am very surprised by what I perceive to be a very casual approach to gathering evidence. I was reporting two approaches by a former international star of the game. I was not asked to elaborate on anything I said and I signed a statement that was essentially nothing more than a skeleton outline.” He also condemns the severity of the punishment dished out to Lou Vincent, pointing out that Vincent had spoken out on fixing and co-operated with the authorities on the matter. In its response to McCullum’s statements, the ICC denies the origin of the leaked statement came from within the governing body and stresses that it has “put strong measures” in place to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.

Big picture: Mercurial Pakistan v hungry Bangladesh

Pakistan’s hot-and-cold campaign meets Bangladesh’s hunger in a virtual semi-final to book their spot against India in the Asia Cup 2025 final. Pakistan haven’t won two matches in a row in the tournament but despite the hiding against India, they bounced back against Sri Lanka. Bangladesh haven’t done too badly in the tournament despite their T20I misgivings in recent years. They have emerged as a young team in transition, now playing with more confidence. But they have a quick turnaround after their defeat to India on Wednesday.Pakistan would take heart from their batting comeback against Sri Lanka. They lost four wickets for just 12 runs, slipping to 57 for four chasing 134. Hussain Talat and Mohammad Nawaz were the unlikely batting heroes, taking Pakistan home comfortably in the end. They had earlier bowled well to restrict Sri Lanka, who were the favourites going into the game following their group-stage performance.Talat and Nawaz showed the advantage of being underrated batters in the team, as Sri Lanka took their foot off the gas after removing the more heralded Mohammad Haris. Nawaz has had an interesting tournament, having been unused as a bowler in Pakistan’s last two games. This, despite coach Mike Hesson calling him the best spinner in the world. Nawaz, however, has bailed out Pakistan with the bat a couple of times in the tournament. Talat too did well against Sri Lanka, picking up two wickets in an over to go with his rescue act with the bat.Related

• Mohammad Nawaz reinvents himself

Unlike Pakistan, Bangladesh would want to quickly forget how they fared in their last match against India. They would bank on the confidence they gained from beating Sri Lanka and Afghanistan earlier in the tournament. They also beat Pakistan 2-1 at home in July, one of their three consecutive T20I series wins coming into the Asia Cup.To be fair, Bangladesh’s bowlers came back well against India after Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill got off to an electrifying start. Legspinner Rishad Hossain took the first two wickets before Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman put the brakes on the scoring rate. Saif Hassan’s back-to-back fifties will also give him reason to believe he can add a third against Pakistan. Bangladesh will also hope that Taskin Ahmed and Litton Das, reported to return for this game, can use their experience to get Bangladesh to the final.2:14

Why did Bangladesh make four changes against India?

Form guide

Bangladesh LWWLW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Pakistan WLWLW

In the spotlight: Rishad Hossain and Shaheen Shah AfridiRishad Hossain has answered the big question about legspinners in Bangladesh – whether he can deliver under pressure. After his 14 wickets in last year’s T20 World Cup, he has impressed in the Asia Cup as well with six strikes in four games, including a spirited show against India. He took the first two wickets and then ran out the marauding Abhishek. He is growing in his stature as a legspinner and has the most wickets for Bangladesh since his T20I debut.It is crucial for Pakistan that Shaheen Shah Afridi gets them the early breakthroughs in the Asia Cup. It not only gives them an early advantage but also helps Afridi maintain his rhythm in the match. He has had a decent tournament so far despite his wicketless outings against India. He dismissed both the Sri Lankan openers, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, early to set the tone. And his batting lower down the order is also helping him add value to the team.Saim Ayub has found runs hard to come by in this Asia Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Team news: Will Pakistan leave Saim Ayub out?

Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed are likely to return. Parvez Hossain Emon and Mohammad Saifuddin could make way for them.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Litton Das (capt & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Rishad Hossain, 8 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanPakistan could bring back Hasan Nawaz or play Khushdil Shah for Saim Ayub, who has tallied only 23 runs in five games in the tournament.Pakistan (probable): 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Saim Ayub, 4 Salman Agha (capt), 5 Hussain Talat, 6 Mohammad Haris (wk), 7 Mohammad Nawaz, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar Ahmed

Pitch and conditions: Win toss, bowl first the Dubai mantra

The pitch in Dubai continues to be slow and slightly difficult for the side batting first, even though India won batting first against Bangladesh. Teams are likely to field first given the heat as well.

Stats and trivia

• For the first time in his T20I career, Nawaz hasn’t bowled for Pakistan in consecutive innings.
• Mustafizur became the fourth bowler to take 150 wickets in T20Is, behind Rashid Khan, Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi.
• Jaker Ali leading Bangladesh in their last match was a first for him in all competitive cricket.